South Sudan army sends reinforcements to conflict zones

July 25, 2014 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese army (SPLA) says it has sent heavy military reinforcements to different areas where it is struggling to contain an armed rebellion under the former vice-president, Riek Machar.

A soldier from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) walks away from a vehicle while on patrol in Juba on 21 December 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

The SPLA’s chief of general staff, General Paul Malong Awan, said the army was ready to defend the country and uphold its constitutional mandate to protect civilians and their properties.

“The duty of any army is to defend the country from any aggression, including attempts, whether within or outside to remove and install any system of government through means which are not constitutional,” said Awan at a briefing to soldiers Upper Nile state capital Malakal prior to their deployment.

“We also have the duty and constitutional mandate to protect the civilians and their properties anywhere within the territory of the Republic of South Sudan and we should not look to anybody [else] for this task”, he added.

Military sources say more than 1,200 fighters have been mobilised from different regions in the country to Nasir town and surrounding areas to fence it off from rebels, using commercial flights and military carriers

The move comes after the government warned it was considering launching a major offensive against rebel forces.

The army has bee struggling to contain rebel advances in some areas since both warning parties signed a ceasefire agreement in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in January.

Military sources say the orders were part of the duties and functions of the chief of general staff as stipulated under its 2009 white paper act, outlining the role and responsibilities of the army commander.

“This is just a normal way of command. The chief of general staff, as provided for under the white paper act, has clear roles and responsibilities as he is the one who oversees military activities,” General Garang Mabil told Sudan Tribune on Friday, without providing further comment on the development.

However, Mabil, a close ally of president Salva Kiir, said the government has a constitutional responsibility to equip and maintain the army.

“Whether [there] are resources or not, the government has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that the army is fully equipped and maintained to exercise its mandate. This is not a question of whether there are adequate resources or not. It is something which the government and the people of South Sudan need to understand and make it a national priority,” he said.

Renewed fighting between the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and rebel forces erupted in Nasir last weekend, with both sides since claiming to be in control of the strategic town, located south-east of Malakal.

The latest outbreak of violence has been condemned by world leaders, including UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, who called on pro-Machar rebels to immediately cease all offensive operations in Nasir and other areas, while also urging the South Sudanese government to resist launching any counter-offensive.

On Tuesday, Awan himself cautioned against launching a counter offensive on rebel positions, but qualified his comments by saying any such move should not be interpreted as a sign of government weakness.

The South Sudanese government and pro-Machar rebels have been engaged in an armed conflict since mid-December last year after a political split emerged in the ruling SPLM.

The January ceasefire deal, recommitted to by both sides in May, has so far failed to halt the violence on the ground, with both sides trading accusations of violating the terms of the agreement.

(ST)

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26 July 2014 10:35, by Dengic

Well done Malong,you need to increase air offensive,the few Nuer who will make it to the bush will meet their another enemy called hunger.This particular tribe in south Sudan does not know"Kong koc Ku ba det".they should have learned from Machar’s 1991 bloody and failed alliance with Khartoum.

Ruling people by force is not the law of the land. It’s a Dinka law and its the law that people are experiencing in Juba by being looted by the so called Dinka Presidential grads and no nation should be lotted by its own army. Also no nation and no president have ever trained his own tribe to guard and on one state to run the national interest. thats called thuggery!!

Well Joseph Canada, when you talk about looting, your rebels are the number one looters and distractive machine in South Sudan. Which town they occupied in the past did they not loot and ransacked? Are you kidding yourself by thinking government soldiers are looters when in fact your rebels are the ones practicing what they are known to do best?

Well done General Malong. That’s how you fight the war. Machar’s gangs will never a big lesson from this
You have false claims about President’s body guards. They never loot anybody property. Only Machar’s thugs can do that. They are getting pay month and they live in the city protect you, your family, and land. Remember, Dinkas liberated you out from the North and you don’t give them damn credit.

Well done General Malong. That’s how you fight the war. Machar’s gangs will learn a big lesson from this
You have false claims Joseph canada. They never loot anybody property. Only Machar’s thugs can do that. They are getting pay month and they live in the city protect you, your family, and land. Remember, Dinkas liberated you out from the North and you don’t give them damn credit.

Joseph Canada, Dinkas did not just start training Dinkas to protect the country. They started training Dinkas since 1983 until the CPA was signed 2005. Therefore, this is ongoing training to protect you and you property. Who liberated you from Arabs if I may ask? Dinkas right? Please give them damn credit. They’re not your enemy, but they’re your eyes, ears, and visionaries’ leaders.

Listend you Wek or wet whichever you call yourselves and the Dinka Defebder General. Those rebel who you claim to have looted places are allowed to do so to get food to eat and fight while your Dinka tribe have not only looted for the first time but were born to loot. Infact this is an opportunity for a Dinka to get something that they have never had in lives. They never owned anything in life.

So don’t even tell me something I don’t know. You talk about Dinka liberating us from the north? Bullshit. Dinka did nothing but the rest of South Sudanese. What the Dinka did was to kill other fellow southerners. I want you to go to Newsite called Natinga and find how many Nuer, Toposa, Budi people have been killed. Also I want you to tell me the town in Equatoria that was liberated by Dinka.

Remember, you or your people, Nuers, and many other tribes ganged up on Dinkas in 1991. You stabbed Dinkas in the back when they were fighting Arabs North. Remember, they captured Kapoeta, Torit, and almost capture Juba in 1991 when Machar and his gangsters tried to destroy the SPLA. Where were you? I don’t blame you since you were in Uganda as Acholi. We the Dinkas and other liberators forgive yo

nasir need to be fully controlled up to teeth because it is where rebel got reinforcement from gambella. any border town whether with ethiopia or sudan like Renk, manyo etc need to well protected so that rebel got no excess of arms.

You’re dreaming Kim. Nuers will never defeat Dinkas. May I ask you a question. What States are we fighting in? Only Nuer’s States right? Dinkas’s States are free. Just accept defeat and come back to Juba. We will welcome you back as brother and country man. But be warn. We don’t need Machar and his commanders back. They can go to exile. Only soldiers are welcome back to Juba. Dinkas rules & policy

The Derg was removed with the salient participation of the Oromo -> the largest tribe in Ethiopia. The Oromo constitute over one third of Ethiopia’s population. The Amhara were involved, as were the Eritreans.

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